Car coupler



w. J. REGAN CAR COUPLER Aug. 2, 1932 Filed March 27, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 2, 1932; w, J, REGAN 1,869,713

CAR COUPLER Filed March 27, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 2, 1932 PTE I WILLIAM J. BEGAN, OF WILKINSB'URG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE MCCONWAY & TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION PENN- CAR COUPLER Application filed March 2'7, 1929. Serial No. 350,259.

My invention relates to improvements in the well-known standard D coupler. The principal object of'the invention is to provide a coupler head of more compact form than the standard D-type head but which may receive and efficiently cooperate with the lock and other standard D fittings as associated with bottom operating coupler release mechanism. A further object of the invention is to effect compactness of form of the coupler head in a manner enabling the coupler looking mechanism easily to perform its locking and unlocking movements. A. still further object of the invention is so to form the coupler head that suflicient clearance for the air brake hose is afforded under all conditions of operation.

The principal feature of the invention, generally stated, consists in providing the upper portion of the coupler head with a locking block chamber having a rear wall whose interior surface is curved to conform approximately to the path of travel of the upper end of the coupler look when the latter performs its unlocking and knuckle opening operations, the exterior surface of said wall pref: erably being concentric with said inner surface, and a portion of the latter at the top of the lock chamber and toward the guard arm side of the coupler head extending forwardly beyond the adjacent portion of said interior surface which is nearer the knuckle side of the head. A further feature of the invention consists in forming a portion of the interior surface of the rear wall of the locking block chamber as a curve whose center substantially corresponds to the center of motion of the locking block when the latter is performing its knuckle opening movement.

1 Another feature of the invention consists in bevelling or undercutting the lower central portion of the guard arm of the coupler head in a localized zone to provide clearance for the air brake hose when the coupler is mounted to swing radially and occupies its extreme position'toward the side of the car adjacent which the air brake pipe is located. Other features of the invention pertaining to advantageous details of construction will hereinafter appear and be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings illustrating a preferred form of the invention,

Figure 1 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, of a car coupler embodying the invention, the parts being in normal locked relation.

Figure 2 is a detailed sectional view on the line 22, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detailed sectional view on the line 38, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 but illustrating the relation of the parts when the locking block is in the extreme upper position it assumes when operating to throw the knuckle open, and showing in dot and dash lines the relation of the air brake hose to the coupler head when the latter swings to the right to an extreme position. Figure 5 is a detailed view on the line 55, Figure 4, the air brake hose being shown diagrammatically by dot and dash lines.

Figure 6 is a plan view of a coupler embodying the invention, its shank being formed so as to permit the coupler to be pivotally mounted upon the car.

In the drawings, 1 is the head and 2 is the stem of the car coupler. Except for differences hereinafter described, the coupler head 1 is like that of a standard D-type coupler. The fittings associated with the coupler head, namely, the knuckle 3, the lock 4, the toggle 5 of the bottom operating release mechanism, the lift lever 6 which operates the toggle and the knuckle opener 7, are of the standard D form and are com bined and operate in the well known manner.

Immediately in advance of its point of junction with the stem 2, the upper portion of thehead l of the coupler 1s formed with a lock chamber 8 for receiving the upper end of the locking block 4, the center of said chamber being located to the guard arm side of the center of the coupler and the upper wall 9 of said chamber preferably being completely closed in order to exclude snow, ice, dirt, or any foreign matter which might interfere with the operation of the coupler. The rear wall 10 of the lock chamber, which is preferably of substantially uniform thickness throughout, extends upwardly and forwardly from the top wall of the coupler shank, its upper portion 11 being curved and the portion 12 thereof, which is immediately above the top wall of the coupler shank, being preferably curved also. The center of curvature of the lower part of the interior surface of the upper portion 11 of the rear wall of the lock chamber is preferably at the point 13 on the under surface of the shoulder 14: of the coupler head with which the fulcrum lug 15 of the lock cooperates to provide a free pivotal connection when the lock performs its knuckle throwing operation; but toward the upper end of the portion 11 the curvature of its interior surface is increased, as at 16, toward the guard arm side of the head, and is still further increased at 17 toward the knuckle side of the head, thus causing as shown in Figure 2, the upper part of the wall 11 ad- 3' acent the knuckle side of the head to be offset rearwardly with respect to the upper portion of the rear wall of the lock chamber adjacent the guard arm of the coupler. The recess provided by making the interior curved surfaces 16 and 17 of unequal radii affords the necessary working clearance for the rear upper corner 18 of the lock which is at the knuckle side of the head. The curvature of the inner surface of the lower portion 12 of the rear wall of the lock chamber is greater than that of the interior surface immediately above it so as smoothly to connect the portion 11 of the rear wall of the lock chamber with the usual lock-down lug 19 with which coupler heads of the D-type are provided. As the major portion of the upper end of the lock is to the rear of the point where lifting force is applied to the lock by the toggle during an unlocking movement, the upper end of the lock has a bias to swing rearwardly so as to maintain contact with the curved interior guiding surface of the lock chamber. The successive curvatures of the interior surface of the rear wall 10 of the lock chamber serve to guide the upper end of the locking block as the latter is lifted through the instrumentality of the toggle 5 and the lift lever 6, thus insuring that the lock in executing its unlocking and the knuckle throwing operations shall always follow a path resulting in easy and certain operation.

The features of construction of the coupler head heretofore described are particularly advantageous when the car coupler is mounted upon the car so as to swing from side to side, for the decrease in dimensions of the lock receiving chamber 8 thereby effected permits a greater range of lateral swinging movement of a coupler having standard D-type fittings than would otherwise be possible. Such being the case it is preferred also to provide the under side of the guard arm 20 with a downwardly and in wardly inclined or bevelled face 21 which serves to provide clearance for the air brake hose 22 when the coupler is in its extreme laterally displaced position toward the air brake pipe side of the car.

I claim:

1. A car coupler having a head and a shank, a knuckle rotatably mounted on the head, a vertically movable and rearwardly swinging lock for the knuckle, means on said head and lock cooperating to provide a free pivotal connection therebetween at the forward side .of the lock, and bottom operating release means for actuating said lock, the upper portion of said head being formed with a chamber for receiving the upper end of said lock, said chamber being provided with a forwardly extending rear wall projecting above the shank of the coupler, and the upper portion of the interior surface of said wall being curved to conform substantially to the path of travel of the rear upper portion of said lock.

2. A car coupler having a head and a shank, a knuckle rotatably mounted on the head, a vertically movable and rearwardly swinging lock for the knuckle, means on said head and lock cooperating to provide a free pivotal connection therebetween at the forward side of the lock, and bottom operating release means for actuating said lock, the upper portion of said head being formed with a chamber for receiving the upper end of said lock, said chamber being provided with a rear wall, the upper portion of which is in advance of the lower portion, the interior surface of the upper portion of said wall being curved, and the portion of said interior surface which is nearer the knuckle side of the coupler head being oflset rearwardly with respect to the portion of said interior surface which is nearer the guard arm side of the head.

3. A car coupler having a head and a shank, a knuckle rotatably mounted on the head, a vertically movable and rearwardly swinging lock for the knuckle, means on said head and lock cooperating to provide a free pivotal connection therebetween at the forward side of the lock, and bottom operating release means for actuating said lock, the upper portion of said head being formed with a chamber for receiving the upper end of said lock, said chamber being provided above the shank of the coupler with a rear wall whose upper end is in advance of its lower end, the interior surface of the upper portion of said wall being curved upon a center of curvature COI'IQSPOndiIlg substantially to the center of swinging movement of said lock.

4. A car coupler having a head and a shank, a knuckle rotatably mounted on the head, a vertically movable and rearwardly swinging lock for the knuckle, means on said head and lock cooperating to provide a free pivotal connection therebetween at the forward side of the lock, and bottom operating release means for actuating said lock, the upper portion of said head being formed with a chamber for receiving the upper end of said lock, said chamber being provided above the shank of the coupler with an upwardly and forwardly extending curved wall, the inner surface of said wall adjacent the guard arm side of the head having portions of different curvature.

5. A car coupler having a head and a shank, a knuckle rotatably mounted on the head, a vertically movable and rearwardly swinging lock for the knuckle, means on said head and lock cooperating to provide a free pivotal connection therebetween at the forward side of the lock, and bottom operating release means for actuating said lock, the upper portion of said head being formed with a chamber for receiving the upper end of said lock, said chamber being provided with an upper wall and a rear wall, a portion of said rear wall adjacent said upper wall being curved to conform substantially to the path of travel of a portion of said lock.

6. A car coupler having a head and a shank, a knuckle rotatably mounted on the head, a vertically movable and rearwardly 7m swinging lock for the knuckle, means on said head and lock cooperating to provide a free pivotal connection therebetween at the forward side of the lock, and bottom operating release means for actuating said lock, the upper portion of said head being formed with a chamber for receiving the upper end of said lock, said chamber being provided above the shank of the coupler with a rear wall whose interior surface is formed with a curved portion and with a recess ofiset rearwardly with respect to said curved portion, said recess being adapted to receive a portion of said look.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature. WILLIAM J. REGAN. 

